Ring of fire

ABSTRACT

“Ring of Fire” is a simple device for insuring that electric stovetop burners are not left on inadvertently. It consists of a circular fluorescent light bulb that is either encased in Pyrex, or is itself constructed of Pyrex, and plugged, via a socket located underneath the stovetop, into a circuit that is completed whenever the corresponding burner is turned on. The bulb is recessed into a circular concavity in the stovetop, immediately surrounding the outer rim of the drip tray, and held in place by four metal clips. The bulb is covered by a flat circle of red, translucent Pyrex whose inner rim is attached to the outer rim of the drip tray by metal clips, and whose outer rim rests on a small “shelf” in the stovetop. Thus, whenever a burner is turned on, regardless of its setting, (e.g., high or low), it will be surrounded by a bright red, glowing, “Ring of Fire.” The Pyrex circle is easily removable to allow access for changing the bulb. Alternatively, the bulb itself could be colored red, and the Pyrex cover, clear and transparent. If desired, the bulb could operate in the fashion of existing electric fireplaces, giving the illusion of a burning flame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to indicating that an electric stovetopburner is turned on, and more particularly pertains to an improvedindicator light system that shows which burner is on, regardless of heatsetting, and is evident at the site of the individual burner.

2) Description of the Prior Art

Current conventional electric stoves with the burners located on thestovetop (as opposed to the more expensive glass-top models) utilize asingle, small indicator light, located on the back part of the stove, toshow that a burner is currently on. The light gives no indication whichparticular burner is on, and the burners themselves provide no visibleevidence of being on except at relatively high settings. In addition,the small size of the light, as well as its location on the back part ofthe stovetop with no immediate relation to the operating burner, makesit extremely easy to forget that a burner is turned on. Leaving a burnerturned on, especially when the burner itself does not glow red, presentsa substantial risk of fire or injury. As such, it appears there is acontinuing need for a safer, more effective system for indicating thatan electric stovetop burner is turned on, and the present inventionsubstantially fulfills this need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the forgoing disadvantages inherent in the electric stovetopburner indicator lights now present in the prior art, the presentinvention provides a much safer and more effective means of notifyingthe user of an electric stove that a burner is currently turned on. Assuch, the general purpose of the present invention, which will bedescribed subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light which has all theadvantages of the prior art indicator lights and none of thedisadvantages.

To attain this, the present invention essentially consists of a circularfluorescent light bulb (either encased in Pyrex or constructed of Pyrex)surrounding each burner, recessed into a concavity in the stovetop,covered by a flat, circular protecting cover of red, translucent Pyrex,and plugged into to the same electrical circuit as the control switch ofthe individual burner that it surrounds. The concavity in the stovetopsurrounding the burner incorporates four metal retaining clips to holdthe fluorescent bulb in place, a thin lip on its inner edge over whichthe outer rim of the drip tray fits, an opening through which the bulbis plugged into its corresponding electrical socket, and two small“shelves” upon which the Pyrex cover rests. The drip tray, whose outerrim fits over a thin lip in the stovetop, also incorporates four metalretaining clips to hold the circular Pyrex cover in place.

In an alternative environment, the fluorescent bulb itself may becolored red, and the Pyrex cover, clear. Thus, the user will be notifiedwhen any burner is turned on, regardless of its heat setting, and theuser's attention will be easily drawn to the light due to its locationimmediately surrounding the burner being used.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that that the detailed descriptionthat flows may be more easily understood, and the present contributionto the art, better appreciated. There are, of course, additionalfeatures of the invention that will be described hereinafter and whichwill form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before describing at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of its components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments, and of being carried out in various ways. Also, it isunderstood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are forthe purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure 9is based, may readily be utilized as thebasis for designing other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions, insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scopeof the present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The abstract is neither intended to define theapplication of the invention, which is measured by the claims, nor is itintended to limit the scope of the invention in any way.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light that has all theadvantages and none of the disadvantages of the prior art electricstovetop burner indicator light.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light that may be easily andefficiently marketed and manufactured.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light that is of a durableand reliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light that is susceptible ofa low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, andaccordingly which is then susceptible of low prices of sale to theconsuming public, thereby making stoves utilizing the present inventioneconomically available to the buying public.

Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved electric stovetop burner indicator light that provides inthe apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantagesthereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantagesnormally associated therewith.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved electric stovetop burner indicator light that has an indicatorlight located in immediate proximity to each individual burner so as tosubstantially decrease the likelihood that a burner will be left oninadvertently.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointedout with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming part of thisdisclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operatingadvantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, referenceshould be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter inwhich there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those setforth above will become apparent when consideration is given to thefollowing detailed description thereof. Such description makes referenceto the annexed drawings, FIGS. (1) through (4).

FIG. 1: “RING OF FIRE,”

This is a rough sketch depicting the essential features of the invention

FIG.2:

(A): The orange outer circle represents the outer edge of the stovetopconcavity.

(B) The dotted red circle represents the fluorescent bulb. Said bulb iseither encased in Pyrex, or is itself constructed of Pyrex. The glass ofwhich it is constructed, or in which it is encased, may be either clearor translucently red.

(C) Rim of drip pan, to be modified by attaching metal clips as shown inFIG. 4

(D) Fluorescent bulb plug, to be plugged into socket located undercentral portion of stovetop (see FIG. 3)

(E) Opening in outer edge of stovetop concavity, granting access toelectrical socket

(F) Approximate location of center of stovetop, under which is locatedthe wiring and sockets by which the fluorescent bulb is connected to itscorresponding burner's control switch

FIG. 3:

This drawing is meant to show that the openings (C) in all four stovetopconcavities (A) face the central portion of the stovetop (B), tofacilitate placement of wiring and sockets.

FIG. 4:

The flat Pyrex cover (J) is attached to the rim of the drip tray (K) bymeans of metal clips (L), so that the entire assembly can be easilyremoved either for cleaning, or to grant access to the fluorescent bulbshould it wear out.

As shown in the cross-sectional view at the bottom of the page:

The stovetop (C) is designed with a concavity (B) surrounding eachburner, in which sits the fluorescent bulb (G), which is held in placeby metal retaining clips (H). The flat Pyrex cover (E) is attached tothe outer rim of the drip tray (D), whose outer edge fits over a lip inthe stovetop (F), by metal retaining clips (I), and rests as well on twosmall “shelves” (A) incorporated into the stovetop.

Thus, in the preferred environment, the present invention consists of acircular fluorescent light bulb (either encased in Pyrex or constructedof Pyrex) surrounding each burner, recessed into a concavity in thestovetop, covered by a flat, circular protecting cover of red,translucent Pyrex, and plugged into to the same electrical circuit asthe control switch of the individual burner that it surrounds. Theconcavity in the stovetop surrounding the burner incorporates four metalretaining clips to hold the fluorescent bulb in place, a thin lip on itsinner edge over which the outer rim of the drip tray fits, an openingthrough which the bulb is plugged into its corresponding electricalsocket, and two small “shelves” upon which the Pyrex cover rests. Thedrip tray, whose outer rim fits over a thin lip in the stovetop, alsoincorporates four metal retaining clips to hold the circular Pyrex coverin place. Thus, whenever a burner is turned on, regardless of itssetting, (e.g., high or low), it will be surrounded by a bright red,glowing, “Ring of Fire.” The Pyrex circle is easily removable to allowaccess for changing the bulb.

Alternatively, the bulb itself could be colored red, and the Pyrexcover, clear and transparent. If desired, the bulb could operate in thefashion of existing electric fireplaces, giving the illusion of aburning flame.

As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, thesame should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, nofurther discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will beprovided.

With respect to the above description, then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

1. A new and improved indicator light for electric stovetop burners,said indicator light comprising: For Each Burner: a thin, circular(donut-shaped) fluorescent bulb, either clear or colored red; eitherencased in Pyrex or constructed of Pyrex a flat, circular cover piece ofPyrex, either red or clear (depending on the bulb—e.g., red bulb, clearPyrex); a drip tray whose outer rim fits over a thin lip in thestovetop, and which incorporates four metal retaining clips to hold thecircular Pyrex cover a concavity in the stovetop around the burner,incorporating four metal retaining clips to hold the fluorescent bulb inplace, a thin lip on its inner edge over which the outer rim of the driptray fits, an opening through which the bulb is plugged into itscorresponding electrical socket, and two small “shelves” upon which thePyrex cover rests. a separate electrical socket, located under thecenter portion of the stovetop and accessible via an opening in theouter edge of the stovetop concavity, into which the fluorescent bulb isplugged and by which it is connected to the same electrical circuit asits corresponding burner's control switch.
 2. A new and improvedindicator light for electric stovetop burners as described in claim 1,wherein fluorescent bulb simulates a burning flame.